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Eugene Mirman

Loren Bouchard is the creator of the animated tv comedy Bob's Burgers, a series about a family and the restaurant they own and live above, currently in its fourth season on Fox. In addition to being the co-executive producer and showrunner, Loren also composed the show's opening theme. I interviewed Loren in his office, where his desk is surrounded by musical instruments. In this episode, he talks about which ones went into the theme, and the emotions he wanted to evoke with each of them. Plus a few thoughts from cast members Jon Benjamin and Eugene Mirman.

It was a great year for comedy. Everyone from seasoned stand-ups to musical comedy groups came out with hilarious new material. We listened to all of it and picked the absolute best for you to enjoy. Get ready for the Best Comedy of 2013 Special, as picked by our staff at Bullseye.

You’ll hear selections from the following, almost all of which are available for purchase (with the exception of the sets from the Atlantic Ocean Comedy and Music Festival).

Mark Frauenfelder of BoingBoing and the Gweek podcast joins us again this week to talk about some of his current favorite things. Mark suggests a turn at the multiplayer iPhone game Spaceteam, which is all about yelling techno-gibberish at friends. In the mood for something a little more quiet? Mark also recommends The Magazine, a minimalist, ad-free digital publication "for geeks and curious people."

Simon Rich got his first book deal in 2007. Since then, he’s published five books, received a nomination for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, contributed regular essays to the New Yorker, and worked on Saturday Night Live as a staff writer (which he recently left for a top-secret writing job at Pixar). How old is he? 29. Basically, Simon Rich has his act together.

The characters he writes about? Not so much. His latest book, The Last Girlfriend on Earth, is a collection of vignettes about lost characters coming to terms with love. And these aren’t your typical stories of romance and heartbreak; in true Simon Rich fashion, his stories make the mundane profound and vice-versa. (No one else can write a story about God’s girlfriend and follow it up with a touching monologue from a prophylactic’s POV.)

Simon sits down with Jesse to discuss the autobiographical elements of his stories, the appeal of writing from a child’s point of view, and how love is a lot like heroin.

Digging through old stuff from your childhood can be a lot of different things – insightful, hilarious, wistful, nostalgic. But in comedian Eugene Mirman’s case, it was just embarrassing. In this clip from his latest special, Eugene describes a childhood relic, found in his parents’ basement.

Conventional wisdom amongst standup comics dictates that a crowd has to be on your side before you can make them laugh. It’s good general advice, but it’s not advice that Bill Burr follows – and he’s all the better for it.

Bill Burr’s comedy is, in a word, aggressive. It’s not just that he looks and sounds tough, qualities that have landed him voice acting work in Grand Theft Auto IV and guest appearances on Breaking Bad. Aggression and confrontation are at the core of Bill’s act; he’s not afraid to curse out unruly audience members or start a set with a joke that, in a lesser comic’s hands, might totally alienate a crowd. But his comedy isn’t all tough-guy machismo. He’s just as likely to direct a rant at himself as he is others, a quality that makes his work all the more hilarious and human.

Bill spoke with Jesse a few years ago to talk about Bill’s style of comedy, challenging himself and audiences in his act, and every performer’s most dreaded nightmare: having to follow a dog or child onstage.

Eugene Mirman has announced that his first hour-long standup special, Eugene Mirman: An Evening of Comedy in a Fake Underground Laboratory will premiere on Comedy Central at midnight on Dec. 14th. Rumors are suggesting that it will include a theremin. If you’re in NYC, he’ll also be hosting a free simultaneous watching event / celebration at Bell House in Brooklyn.

The State Department recently invited party-rocker Andrew WK to perform at the US Embassy in Manama. He quickly announced on his own website that he would be a “cultural ambassador” who would unite the human race “with love and partying.” But, sadly, it was not to be. The State Department, shortly after reviewing his “entire body of work” rescinded the invitation. Andrew tweeted later that he believed the trip had been cancelled solely "because I'm too party."

Louis CK will release his fourth HBO special in early 2013. It will be filmed at one of the stops on his current tour. Good news for you folks without cable: he will eventually make it available as a $5 download from his website.

Eugene Mirman is hosting a science fair. The event will precede a taping of StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Kristen Schaal and the whole evening will be the kickoff event for Mirman's annual comedy festival. It's going down on the 15th at the Bell House in Brooklyn and Mirman is currently seeking out interesting inventions to display. So if you're a comedy fan and you've also created a unique and fascinating scientific-y thing that you can easily transport to Park Slope by Thursday . . . well, first, you are awesome. Second, you should probably drop Mirman a line.

And finally, Charlyne Yi and Fred Armisen will appear in an upcoming episode of "Yo Gabba Gabba"! I'm guessing they get to keep the hats.

From time to time, of course, there are shows which are likely to be so popular that I wouldn't recommend waiting until the week of the performance to buy tickets. I'll list one or two of those separately each week. Buy now:

Comedian and podcaster Doug Benson is releasing his third album for Comedy Central, called "Potty Mouth", on August 30th. Usually, I favor digital downloads for my music and comedy, but I've pre-ordered the CD of this performance because it will ship with a bonus DVD that includes all six episodes of "The Benson Interruption". The "Interruption", for those who missed it when it aired, featured Doug sitting in a chair onstage and making digs or observations while another comedian performs. The resulting banter and one-upmanship kept the show lively and fun. Below is a clip featuring one of the show's recurring bits, "Tweet Off", with Michael Ian Black.

A preview of the upcoming animated show Bob's Burgers will air on Fox on Thanksgiving night. Bob's Burgers follows Bob and his family, who run a burger joint. Four of the five main characters are voiced by alums of The Sound: comedy writer H. Jon Benjamin, comedians Dan Mintz and Eugene Mirman and actress and comedian Kristen Schaal.

An HBO special, Talking Funny, featuring comedians talking about comedy, is in the works with Louis CK alongside other greats like Ricky Gervais.

Writer, actor and comedian David Wain has a new project, Cartoon Show, in development with IFC. The show "follows a large cast of iconic cartoon characters as they struggle to produce a daily variety TV show."

And finally, a new video from art rock band Les Savy Fav for their song "Let's Get Out of Here". Lead singer Tim and guitarist Seth joined us for a special set of songs at the live WNYC show a few weeks back, so look forward to a podcast of their set to be posted tomorrow!

The College Years is a look deep into the vaults of The Sound of Young America. Take a journey with us every week as we post a new program or two from our salad days.

Today's theme: Free Form

To begin the show, Jesse speaks with Tom Scharpling. Known for his writing on shows such as Tom Goes to the Mayor and Monk. Tom talks about his radio programme, The Best Show on WFMU. Why don't you become Tom's friend?

Next up on this episode, Eugene Mirman! Listen as Eugene shares memories of childhood alienation and loneliness. Meanwhile, Jesse talks about Gallagher. If you're feeling lonely and don't want to listen to another Gallagher album, pick up some of Eugene's hilarious work.